Profiteering?

I had the same thing last year. We were not allowed to travel out of our area, but yet we were penalised for not going. We booked through a large letting company and the lady who we were renting off felt awful.

Maybe keep an eye on the property for the dates you have had to cancel, just to see whether it has been let or not? As others have said, demand will be high this year so likely to be let.

We don’t know the details but a lot of bookings carry an additional booking fee to cover agency fees etc. If it’s an individual letting, they have a website and changing the availability information must be the work of seconds. The OP is perfectly willing to pay up if the cottage can’t be relet ( why she’s not covered by insurance is not the issue). People running businesses like this are not doing it as a charity, have plenty of tax perks and have had access to grants and loans during covid.Owners have to know the law and follow it

I'd be asking for a share in the profits! To be fair, they might have additional expenses to re-advertise it. I think, as long as you get your money back, you shouldn't be concerned with how they are making their money. You would have had the chance to take out insurance so if you didn't, doesn't the onus rest with you for any loss? Holiday Lets in this country are likely to be in much demand if international travel restrictions are in place so I would be less worried about it being more difficult to let. Perhaps you could assist by sharing the link on Social Media.

Pre Covid we booked a fortnight in a cottage in Britain. Due to ongoing ill health, we were going to cancel about a month before the holiday and was told if they could not relet we would not get any of our money back[We had already paid the balance]. I asked what the chances of reletting would be and got a non-comital answer. We decided not to cancel and allowed a relation to go and come away as they liked.
These rules have always been there if you read the .small print
We are in the same position yet again last year we were offered the chance to defer the booking to this year now we are waiting to see if the country will be open to English travellers for our dates.
Beware if you name some illnesses as reasons not to travel your travel insurance will be much higher the following year, we have been caught with this as well.

If they put it on at a higher price and succeed in re-letting it, then there is surely a case for them splitting the extra profit with you!
(OK, I know that's not going to happen, but in theory...)

The price of holiday cottages inUK has rocketed, and the demand is sky high, so I would be very surprised if the company you booked with cannot relet the property. Keep an eye open, however, because they may not tell you this.
I once had to cancel 2 of the 6 theatre tickets I had booked because of the hospitalisation of one of my friends. When I went to the show these two seats had been resold by the theatre (I asked the people using them) but the theatre denied that this had happened.

vampirequeen

Surely they can only charge you for the price you contracted for.

Yes but it’s more complicated than that. They have a duty in law to mitigate their losses which includes doing all they reasonably can to relet it. They have put it back on the market at a higher price, thus, theoretically , making it harder to relet. I’m guessing there’s an excellent chance it’ll be relet but that’s a different issues.

Surely they can only charge you for the price you contracted for.

Aveline, no the insurance doesn't cover our reasons for being unable to go. As I said I am ok with covering the cost of the let but its a huge increase and they are saying we are liable if they have to discount.

suzie - yes we are also members of Which legal and you make an interesting point about mitigating losses. I dont have a problem with being liable for the let, it just the whopping increase that seems to be unfair. That combined with the fact that we are also liable if they have to discount. Which at those rates I would think is a possibility. Of course there's a shortage this year so its quite likely it will be re let at the higher rate. I am going to screen shot the increases.

No - ts and cs can be unfair and therefore not legally binding. Trust me - I was a walking encyclopaedia on this last year and also had great advice from Which Legal of which I’m a member. Yes of course if they can only let it at less than you were due to pay but what wouldn’t be OK would be to discount it at last minute after advertising it for ages at increased price and not price you would have paid. The magic phrase is mitigating losses

If it's in your terms and conditions then I would think that's fair enough.
I expect they will let it (especially if in the UK) and all will be well.
If it's not let ahead of time I suppose they will first discount the 22% so you won't be liable. If they have to discount below your price then I expect that is where the costs to you might kick in. That seems fair to me as it means you don't lose the whole sum.

Have you got a screen shot of the new price? Useful evidence

Humm I think you’ve got a case here .I had to deal with something similar last year but they put it back on at the same price and relet it at once. All we lost was the £40 booking fee which was quite fair. From advice I received at the time, the owners have a legal duty to mitigate their losses before they can claim money from you. Putting it on at a higher price is imo not doing this. Also, if they couldn’t relet you are not liable for the whole amount but their losses which have to be evidenced. Have you paid the whole amount? What are the dates? If you want, I’ll try snd find the sources I used when fighting my case.

So the owners of the place have to carry the risk of a void? Its their business, in many cases their livelihood. Its a pity that you're ill and can't take up your booking. Do you have holiday insurance? Surely cancellation due to illness is exactly what they'd cover?